Under-the-counter rack



Patented Nov. 15, 11949 UN I TED STAT ES PATENT OFFICE UNDER-THE-COUNTERlRACK Richard L. Linquist, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application February 5, 194'7, Serial No. 726,573

(Cl. 2li-119') 2Claims. l

This invention relates to under-the-counter racks, and particularly to`welded wire racks.. suspended from under side of counter, removablymountedwell balanced with easy swinging movement, and arranged so thatnormally but a small portion extends beyond the counter. The purpose ofthese racks is to hold a supplyI of trays, dishes, scoops, pails andother containers of different sizes `for meat, oysters, pickles, cottagecheese and the like.

To provide a good supply of such different containers of differentsizes, so same are readily accessible and at the Vsaine time are keptclean and sanitary, has been a problem. There is usually not enoughspace available on. the Vcounter, so the boxes or crates of containersare set on the floor and exposed to dirt and sawdust from the floor, ortaken out fof the crate and stacked up in some out of the way place. Inthe latter case, too much time is wasted in `stacking up and going afterthe containers, and `in either case, dirt and dust accumulates in thetop container of astack. The top container is thrown away or the dirtand dust knocked out of it, but too frequently lneither one is done.Also, containers in a crate or in a pile somewhere, are difficult 'toremove quickly, one at a time, and where several diierent kinds andsizes are needed, confusion results. Much time is wasted,A by not havinga supply of the different kinds o Icontainers in 4different sizes,readily available in rear of display case and near a scale, and :also

in not being able to stack containers direct into a dispensing rack, asthey come out of the crate.

One important object is to provide an underthe-counter rack, which willhandle different. kinds and sizes of containers, all easily accesv`sibleand removable, one at a time, which rack,

by a swinging movement, may be temporarily moved outward` for thepurpose, and when released, automatically returns to normal position.

Another object is to provide an under-thecounter ra-ck, that requires asmall amount lof space, is out of the way, and still can be easilyfilled direct from a crate, either in. place or by convenientdetachment.

AAnother object is to provide an under-thecounter rack, which will keepcontainers in a clean and sanitary condition, in a position yclear ofthe floor, and also so interior of containers is free fromdirt and dust.

Another object is to provide .an under-thecounter rack, which althoughvery durable, .may be cheaply manufactured.

Otherobjects will lbe apparent. lfrom scrption and append-ed claims.

For a full disclosureof my.invention,.reference is made .to the-description following andato @the drawings, in which Fig. :l is anelevation view of -the rack, showing the different 'width compartmentsand-the. supporting hangers. To avoid confusion, vertical wires atmid-point in each. compartment, 'are' omitted.

Fig. 2 is a plan view., whichV shows arrangement .of Awires in bottom ofrack, hanger arrange-- ment and location of. VVWires :omitted Ain l.These wires are. shown spaced apart for clarity, but actually arepressed together and welded in practically the same plane as the otherwires.

Fig. 3 isa side view of Ithe rack, suspended from under side of counterand in` its normal position, as lshown by full lines. shown at A and B.To avoid confusion, parti* tions are omitted and .only arrangement` ofwires in end section,I is shown. Also, washer under cotter key isomitted to showipivoting more clearly. Broken lines .show .limit offorward `tilt of rack.

Fig. 4 is ya side sectional. view ofthe diierent sized partitions, takenon line. '4-4 of Fig. 2. This .shows the wire arrangement in 'thepartitions: and omits the` other details.

`In the selecte-d embodiment of my invention, which is hereby disclosed,a `rack is made `up yof No.. 8 gage'an'd No. `5 rgage wire. Arectangularframe 1I E) for the front, hangers .I I land pivot rod I2, are No. '5gage, and all other wires are No. 8v gage. Considerable variation fromthese sizes, is or course Apossible :and entirely practical. Instead ofwire., a ira-ck could kof course, exceptxfor pivots, be .made entirely,fof flat metal. strips. `It could. also vbefmade almost entirely ofwood, plastic Vor Alibre material; ,v

Partitions I3, of different proper depths, are

thev deprovided at proper intervals, forming .comprart-Y ments toaccommodate diierentsizes; of :oyster pails, meat trays, dishes orcontainers in use, and are Ajoined-with abottom I4, `which adapts itselfto the variations. A'use in common .of'm'embers will be noted, .inthejoining of partitions, bottom and` front', .so that good construction`is. .attained with 'minimum Anumber of members, and vwithout any.duplication whatsoever; vIn the embodiment disclosed, the constructionis not; quite symmetrical, the `compartment on extreme right being`larger 'thanathat on extreme left. Thisqis .tofaccommodatecsomecontainers of ya largersize. Theponstruction may be varied. to suitProjected; details .are

cases, other trades, any future new arrangement or any new design ofcontainers, but the proportions disclosed, meet the present generalrequirement in stores and butcher shops. It will be observed, thatintermediate partitions have two intermediate wires I5, while thoseforming the end frames, have only a single wire I6. The eXtraintermediate wires are needed, to better positionsmaller containers inthe compartments. In the bottom, intermediate vwires I1 providenecessary spacing, to support the different sizes of containers. In thefront frame, wires I 8 at mid-point of compartments, provide necessarysupport in that direction. The Ynumber and spacing of Wires inpartitions, bottom and front frame, may need be varied to' suitparticular cases. If there should be a change `,in style of dish orcontainer, so that ends are more rounded, then it may be desirable toprovide two intermediate wires instead of one in each compartment in thefront frame, and that may then require only one instead of two in eachof the other partitions. The rectangular frame II) is formed bybutt-weldingT the two wire ends. Otherwise, wires are lap welded, wherethey are in crossing or intersecting relation, and all ends are groundsmooth, so there Vare no projections. The construction might of coursebe butt-welded in whole or in part.. Cross pieces I9 and 2li in endpartitions or frames, in addition to lap-welding, have loops bent insame as shown in details A and B, and the purpose of which, will belater explained. The pivot rod I2 is lap-welded to the six wires I8 ofthe front, to stiien it, and near each end to the rectangular frame IG.The six wires I 8, which'are lighter, are thereby forced into the sameplane as the frame I0, along the line of the pivot rod I2, instead ofbeing in different planes, .which for clearness, it was necessary to soshow in the drawing.

The hangers II, constructed in a right hand and left hand manner, haveangle bends 2l and 22 at their upper extremities. These angle bends havetheir ends bent into eye loops, to beengaged by screws to fastenhangersV to under side of counter. It will be observed, that the portionof the hangers terminating inthe angle bend 22, has a bend at 23 andanother bend at 24. These bends bring about a stability in suspension oihangers horizontally, without interference with operation. vIhehangersare formed into an eye loop 25, at their lower extremities, adapted toengage each end of the pivot' rod I2. To maintain shape and rigidity,spot welds 26 are inserted between the two portions of the hanger. Ifthere should be an increase in weight of containers, so greaterstiffness is required, one or more struts may be welded between the-twoportions of the hanger, preferably above its engagement with the rack.Washers 2l are welded to the eye loops- 25, and hangers'are held inplace by easily removable cotter keys 28, inserted in drilled holes inpivot rod I2, and resisting thrust of the washers.

An engaging and stop member 29 is attached by welding, to each of crosspieces I9 of end frames in aright hand andleft hand manner. These stopmembers engage the hangers as shown in detail at A, when rack is innormal position. rlhe cross piece `I9 besides being welded, is bent intoa loop 30 around wire of end frame, to provide smooth engaging actionfor hanger. The end of cross piece is bent into a loop 3|, as shown indetail at B, to act as a stop to engage hanger, so rack will not betilted lposition out of the way under the counter.

4 too far in the outward direction and spill the contents. Aftermanufacture is completed, racks and hangers are dipped in paint orenamel. If desired, hot dip galvanizing or electro plating may beprovided.

From the foregoing, the operation of the rack should be apparent. Thesuspension and weight angle are such, that the rack whether fully orpartly loaded or empty, will maintain the normal position shown in fulllines in Fig.'3. At this angle, the containers will always thrust to thefront of the rack, thus always keeping containers in place in an orderlymanner. When necessary to gain access to containers or to fill the rack,its nice balance permits of ready oscillation outward, and whenunrestrained, it will assume its normal To prevent tilting too i araccidentally or when filling, the stops 3| prevent any further tippingthan that indicated by dotted lines in Fig, 3, which it will beobserved, is still well above horizontal, so that 'containers will notfall out. The beveled tops of partitions are an aid to accessibility,and with the additional space aiorded in middle of rack, because ofshallower depth of partitions, good clearance is available to reach intorack to remove containers from any compartment. The time saved by use ofthe rack is evident. In a meat market, the counter is occupied by thedisplay case, except for a narrow ledge in back, which is notVsuiciently wide to store pails, trays or containers. In stores,otherwise, the counter is ordinarily in full use. In either case, itbecomes necessary to store such containers in a place, which is usuallyneither accessible nor sanitary. With my rack located under a scale orat a dispensing point, the containers are always within reach, and atthe same time are kept clear of saw dust and rubbish, to whichcontainers in a crate setting on the floor, are subjected. This packclears the oor, so floor can be swept without interference. Combinedwith its clearance oi the oor, the bottom sets back, so that it is notencountered by the shop keepers feet. Pails, trays and containers aredeposited into the rack directly from their crates, in an upside downposi tion, thereby keeping the inside always clean and sanitary. Inusing containers directly out of crates, dirt and dust accumulate in thetop container of a stack, and it is frequently necessary to discardsame. To ll the rack, it is only necessary to pull the top outward, lland let it drop back into position. It can of course also be easilyremoved by removing the cotter keys from the pivot rod, lled 'whereverthe stock may be located, and replaced. Although primarily intended asan under-the-counter rack, it may of course be set up anywhere and servewell in dispensing containers.

While I have shown and described a preferred form ofmy invention, it isobvious thatl many changes, which are within the scope of my innvention. will be apparent to those skilled in the art.l I thereforedesire to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A tilting, under-the-counter, wire rack comprising, a substantiallyrectangular front frame, a pair of `rend frames, having tops taperedtoward the front, a. plurality of varyingly spaced partitions of varyingdepths, also having tops tapered toward front, and a botto-m, said frontframe, end frames, partitions and bottom being joined together, bycommon members, to form an open top rack, vertical wires secured to saidfront frame intermediate of partitions, a horizontal pivot rod securedto outer side of front frame and intermediate wires, and having drilledholes with removable cotter keys at each end, two vertical hangers, eachconsisting of a length of wire, bent at its midpoint into an eye loop,and adapted to engage one end of pivot rod, and into angle bends withloops at the other ends to accommodate wood screws into under side ofcounter, a washer secured concentrically to said eye loop for smoothbearing against cotter key, each of said hangers having its two legssecured together for a substantial distance adjoining said eye loop, therearward of said legs having bends rearwardly and outwardly to increasestability, two stops on each of said end frames engaging the verticalhangers and limiting tilting of rack on the hangers, one stopmaintaining a normal nearly vertical position, and the other stop anoutwardly inclined position for lling the rack with containers.

2. An under-the-counter, metal store xture comprising, a front frame,two end frames, a plurality of partitions, a bottom and two verticalhangers with pivots and stops, said front frame, two end frames,partitions and bottom being joined together, by common members, to forman open top rack, said front frame being substantially rectangular inshape, and having vertical members secured thereto intermediate of saidpartitions, said end frames having upper ends beveled toward said frontframe, said partit-ions being also similarly beveled at their upperends, and being of such varying widths and being varyingly spaced as toprovide compartments of different sizes, said bottom being of varyingwidth and spacing of members, since it is joined to and in conformancewith width of partitions, said hangers, each consisting of a loop bentand having its end secured for firmly supporting said rack from underside of counter, said pivots for said hangers, and a pair of said stopssecured to each of said end frames, to maintain substantially verticaland horizontal positions for said rack.

RICHARD L. LINQUIST.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 163,126 Whiteside et al May 11,1875 307,929 Edwards Nov. 11, 1884 658,310 Babb Sept. 18, 1900 1,197,012Conlin Sept. 5, 1916 1,205,769 McGill Nov. 21, 1916 1,546,412 SnoddyJuly 21, 1925

